Handmade Crafts Blog

Augusta Music Workshops A World-Class Experience

Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va., is best known for intensive week-long workshops that annually attract several hundred participants. Thousands more attend public concerts, dances and festivals.

Augusta’s full-time staff, plus volunteers, seasonal staff and work-study students produce a great variety of quality workshops. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople and enthusiasts of all ages.

Their mission -

To encourage wider understanding and practice of artistic expression found in local, regional and ethnic traditional folk cultures.

To document, promote, encourage, and nurture West Virginia’s folklife and folkways.

To accomplish the above through workshops, apprenticeships, publications and public presentations.

As a many-year participant in the workshops, I can attest to the fact that this total immersion into the music is a rare experience that you will never forget.

I would encourage anyone interested in exploring their artistic side through music or dance to take advantage of this unique opportunity in West Virginia. Many of the musicians featured at MountainMade have been teachers or students at Augusta.